The Hatfields of West Virginia were led by William Anderson `` Devil Anse '' Hatfield while the McCoys of Kentucky were under the leadership of Randolph `` Ole Ran ' l '' McCoy .

Those involved Cause_to_be_included in the feud Hostile_encounter were descended Motion_directional from Joseph Hatfield and William McCoy ( born 1750 ) .

William McCoy , the patriarch of the McCoys , was born in Ireland around 1750 and many of his ancestors hailed from Scotland .

The family , led by grandson Randolph McCoy , lived mostly on the Kentucky side of Tug Fork ( a tributary of the Big Sandy River ) .

The majority of the Hatfields , although living in Mingo County ( then part of Logan County ) , West Virginia , fought Hostile_encounter on the Confederate side in the American Civil War ; most McCoys , living in Pike County , Kentucky , also fought Hostile_encounter for the Confederates ; with the exception of Asa Harmon McCoy , who fought for the Union .

The first real violence in the feud Hostile_encounter was the death of Asa Harmon McCoy as he returned Arriving from the war , murdered Killing by a group of Confederate Home Guards called the Logan Wildcats .